TUCSON, AZ
We arrived home today around 2:30 p.m. and believe you, me, home never looked so good. We pulled the trailer up in front of the front door and the unloading will begin tomorrow. We are glad to be home after an uneventful, fast trip home. I don't think we have ever made it from Odessa to here as fast as we did this trip. I looked back in our logs and we have always taken at least 7 days...this time we know we can do it in four if we have to, but I sure don't want to do it again.
We had a little surprise as we were leaving Fillmore, Utah. We were wrapping things up and getting ready to roll when this gentleman walks over and says, "Are you from Odessa?" Of course we replied we were and he says "So am I!" HUH? I said, "Odessa, WASHINGTON" and he said "yes". Then I looked at his shirt and he had on a Deutschesfest 2008 shirt on...and only one place you get those and that is ODessolet! I sure didn't recognize him, but that didn't mean anything. He starts telling us that he retired as the principal of the school last year...hmmm...this is beginning to ring some bells (and not school bells, either)...I seem to remember reading about him retiring. We continue to talk and finally Al tells him that he was raised in Irby (a very small town near Odessa) and the guy says "Do you know the Wraspir's?" To which we reply "We are the Wraspir's!" This is getting a bit creepy for me at this point. Turns out he was the band teacher and then the Principal and two of our nieces and our nephew knew him; as well as several of our other relatives and our sister-in-law worked for him. Now, is this a small world?????? Gordon Neal, aka, Flash Gordon and us wind up in the same small RV park in the middle of nowhere Utah! Small world just got smaller!
Our day yesterday after that was fairly quiet. The foliage was beautiful in around Bryce Canyon and Zion. We drove 438 miles yesterday and finally stopped in Munds Park, AZ, just south of Flagstaff. There is a KOA in Flagstaff, but we stayed there once and decided we wouldn't do that again as it is an old park and very narrow roads with tree's lining the roads. So we went to Munds Park, which the RV Park closes tomorrow for the season. It was downright cold last night again. Since Flagstaff is 6200 feet in elevation it gets cold there.
This morning we rolled out about 9:30 and stopped once for fuel and once to grab a bite to eat on the road. We just wanted to be home. The minute we turned off the main highway onto Golder Ranch Rd, Beau knew where he was and began to sing. He was home! The dogs flew out of the truck when we got home and began to explore their territory to make sure no invaders were here. The cats did the same thing. I opened the front door and had a little gecko right inside the front door, so I shooed him out before the cats had a snack. The house survived the summer nicely and both of us are glad to be here and perhaps rest a little. We at least one of us will.
My brother took me to pick up my car where it was stored and so now things are getting back to normal. Tomorrow we will start the unload process...I still haven't figured out a way to make this easier.
So until next time, we are home safe and sound and happy to stay in one place for a while.
Happy Halloween to you all....
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Where in the heck is Fillmore?
Fillmore, UT
Yup...thats where we are. We are on the way south.
We got out of Odessolet around 4:00 p.m. on Sunday. We had a little more to do than I had planned on. On Saturday instead of packing as I had planned, Al had other idea's. We seemed to have too many tomatoes, so we wound up canning 14 quarts of tomatoes on Saturday morning! THEN, I started to pack the trailer. Needless to say, having lost the morning, I was behind. I think I did pretty good by getting us out of there by Sunday. Al was all for waiting until Monday moring to leave, but I vetoed that right away because he would find something more to do and we wouldn't get gone until late in the day...I know him! We stopped in Hermiston, Oregon for the night. That was after discovering we didn't have headlights on the truck, nor running lights! WTH?
Monday
After leaving the RV park we headed for Pendleton, OR and hoped for a Ford dealership...no such luck. So we stopped at a Walmart so I could do some light shopping for groceries; Al checked the fuses and all seemed to be okay. So we decided to keep going (what else could we do?) as we had brake lights and turn signals and for some reason, we now had headlights on the truck. We stopped in Mountain Home, ID for the night as we were running out of daylight. Nice RV park, fairly new and easy access to the freeway.
Tuesday
We about froze last night! BRRRR. The furnace kept coming on all night and niether of us got much sleep. Al had cramps all night and was up and down all night. Needless to say I was awake. This morning I took the dogs for a long walk and found an area to let them off the leash and let them run. And run they did! We left around 9:00 a.m., and both of us ocmmented on the traffic on the freeway...lots of people heading south. The weather has been absolutely beautiful. Crisp, cold mornings, bright, brillant afternoons. And the tree's; the leaves are beautiful gold, red and orange. So far it has been a very pretty drive, well, with the exception of parts of southern Idaho and northern Utah, which are very treeless and desolet.
We are staying at our favorite KOA in Fillmore tonight. The owners are from Stanwood, WA and we try to stay here at least once a year as they really keep the park in excellent condition. Plus, it is at least a half mile from the freeway!
We are 659 miles from home...so tomorrow night we will be in Camp Verde, Az and home by early afternoon on Thursday...that is if we don't have any unforeseen trouble. Our truck and trailer are getting old and have a lot of trips on them, so we never know what will happen. I think it is time to get something new, however, Al disagree's with me. He is of the mind that we will keep these until they die...a thought I don't like.
So, until we get home, hope all is well with everyone.
We are...
THE WROAMIN' WRASPIRS, for the moment.
Yup...thats where we are. We are on the way south.
We got out of Odessolet around 4:00 p.m. on Sunday. We had a little more to do than I had planned on. On Saturday instead of packing as I had planned, Al had other idea's. We seemed to have too many tomatoes, so we wound up canning 14 quarts of tomatoes on Saturday morning! THEN, I started to pack the trailer. Needless to say, having lost the morning, I was behind. I think I did pretty good by getting us out of there by Sunday. Al was all for waiting until Monday moring to leave, but I vetoed that right away because he would find something more to do and we wouldn't get gone until late in the day...I know him! We stopped in Hermiston, Oregon for the night. That was after discovering we didn't have headlights on the truck, nor running lights! WTH?
Monday
After leaving the RV park we headed for Pendleton, OR and hoped for a Ford dealership...no such luck. So we stopped at a Walmart so I could do some light shopping for groceries; Al checked the fuses and all seemed to be okay. So we decided to keep going (what else could we do?) as we had brake lights and turn signals and for some reason, we now had headlights on the truck. We stopped in Mountain Home, ID for the night as we were running out of daylight. Nice RV park, fairly new and easy access to the freeway.
Tuesday
We about froze last night! BRRRR. The furnace kept coming on all night and niether of us got much sleep. Al had cramps all night and was up and down all night. Needless to say I was awake. This morning I took the dogs for a long walk and found an area to let them off the leash and let them run. And run they did! We left around 9:00 a.m., and both of us ocmmented on the traffic on the freeway...lots of people heading south. The weather has been absolutely beautiful. Crisp, cold mornings, bright, brillant afternoons. And the tree's; the leaves are beautiful gold, red and orange. So far it has been a very pretty drive, well, with the exception of parts of southern Idaho and northern Utah, which are very treeless and desolet.
We are staying at our favorite KOA in Fillmore tonight. The owners are from Stanwood, WA and we try to stay here at least once a year as they really keep the park in excellent condition. Plus, it is at least a half mile from the freeway!
We are 659 miles from home...so tomorrow night we will be in Camp Verde, Az and home by early afternoon on Thursday...that is if we don't have any unforeseen trouble. Our truck and trailer are getting old and have a lot of trips on them, so we never know what will happen. I think it is time to get something new, however, Al disagree's with me. He is of the mind that we will keep these until they die...a thought I don't like.
So, until we get home, hope all is well with everyone.
We are...
THE WROAMIN' WRASPIRS, for the moment.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Last Two Days in San Francisco
San Francisco
Let's see, where did I leave off? Oh yeah...now I remember.
Wednesday.
After having our In N Out burgers at Fisherman's Wharf we meandered down through Chinatown again and then to Grace Cathedral. What a beautiful cathedral, very impressive architecture.
From there we walked past what we thought was the Flood Mansion; turned out it wasn't the Flood Mansion at all and I still don't know what this big, brown, mansion is. We stopped at The Fairmont Hotel for a coffee/drink for a rest. Our feet/back were beginning to hurt. WE then took a cab from there to Telegraph Hill and Coit Tower. Legend has it that this monument is shaped like a fire-hose nozzle. It is not, at least not by design. The tower is the gift of Lilly Hitchcock Coit, an eccentric heiress who managed to stand out in a city full of them. Lilly's particular passion was for the San Francisco Fire Department. So when the money she left in her will for the city's beautification was used to construct the art deco tower on Telegraph Hill in 1932, people made assumptions. The view from here is amazing! I felt like I could see forever. And it was a perfectly clear day as well.
After the tower we headed to North Beach area for dinner. After checking out several restaurants, including Joe DiMaggio's, (which we couldn't afford) we settled on Caffe Delucchi -- an excellent Italian Restaurant. I finally realized that we have ate at an Italian Restaurant every night but one since we have been here. And all of them have been excellent.
Thursday
Jennifer left for home early this morning. After we had breakfast, Kathy and Janet headed out for a walking tour of Victorian homes. I elected to not aggravate my back any more. I headed for Chinatown and then walked back to the hotel...which I discovered was a 2 mile walk. However, it was down hill and since the weather has been so nice I really enjoyed it. I took my time and rested and walked at a slower pace than the girls do. I know I probably hold them up when we are going somewhere together...I just can't walk as fast as they can anymore. Guess age is really starting to creep up on me...at least I feel it this week as I can't keep up with the young crustaceans anymore--and yes, I am the old crab!
This evening we ventured out to a Brazilian Steakhouse! OH MY GOODNESS! I repeat, OH MY GOODNESS! If you have never been to one; GO! They are bit on the expensive side, but when you realize what all you get, the expense evens out. You start out at the salad bar; which is huge! All kinds of different salads, coucous, my favorite taboleh, and much more. Also there is hot dishes of beans, rice, paella, potatoes, etc. Back at your table you have a round disk that on one side is red and says STOP and the other side is Green and says GO. GO! Then the feast begins. First of all, most of the meat is served by waiters handling a huge skewer of meat and a very sharp knife! First one to our table had sausages, very tasty. Next came top sirloin, then chicken hearts (yes, you read that right), then beef chunks marinated in red wine (delicious), then pork roast, chicken legs, shrimp, and finally filet mignon. All were excellent, but the filet was the best I have ever had. We litterally waddled out of the place and waddled back to our hotel! We were stuffed but happy. Very different dining experience and I thought it was excellent!
FRIDAY
Good bye San Francisco, back to the real world. We hit the airport early and Kathy and Janet caught an early flight back to Seattle. I was on a different airline so I didn't leave until 1:00 p.m. and into Seattle by 3:00 p.m. Had to change airlines, so I got my luggage and drug the whole mess to Alaska Airlines for my flight to Spokane. I got up to the gate and had over an hour to wait, so I was chatting with the lady next to me when I looked up and there stood Al's niece Penny! We were sure surprised to see each other. She had been to Seattle for a conference and was on her way home to Spokane and we were on the same, very packed flight back to Spokane.
Jerry and AL picked me up and we stopped for dinner which was no comparison to the night before! Got home to some very happy to see me dogs and cats! Now the real work starts...getting the 5th wheel ready to leave for Tucson hopefully on Sunday. More from the road.
Let's see, where did I leave off? Oh yeah...now I remember.
Wednesday.
After having our In N Out burgers at Fisherman's Wharf we meandered down through Chinatown again and then to Grace Cathedral. What a beautiful cathedral, very impressive architecture.
From there we walked past what we thought was the Flood Mansion; turned out it wasn't the Flood Mansion at all and I still don't know what this big, brown, mansion is. We stopped at The Fairmont Hotel for a coffee/drink for a rest. Our feet/back were beginning to hurt. WE then took a cab from there to Telegraph Hill and Coit Tower. Legend has it that this monument is shaped like a fire-hose nozzle. It is not, at least not by design. The tower is the gift of Lilly Hitchcock Coit, an eccentric heiress who managed to stand out in a city full of them. Lilly's particular passion was for the San Francisco Fire Department. So when the money she left in her will for the city's beautification was used to construct the art deco tower on Telegraph Hill in 1932, people made assumptions. The view from here is amazing! I felt like I could see forever. And it was a perfectly clear day as well.
After the tower we headed to North Beach area for dinner. After checking out several restaurants, including Joe DiMaggio's, (which we couldn't afford) we settled on Caffe Delucchi -- an excellent Italian Restaurant. I finally realized that we have ate at an Italian Restaurant every night but one since we have been here. And all of them have been excellent.
Thursday
Jennifer left for home early this morning. After we had breakfast, Kathy and Janet headed out for a walking tour of Victorian homes. I elected to not aggravate my back any more. I headed for Chinatown and then walked back to the hotel...which I discovered was a 2 mile walk. However, it was down hill and since the weather has been so nice I really enjoyed it. I took my time and rested and walked at a slower pace than the girls do. I know I probably hold them up when we are going somewhere together...I just can't walk as fast as they can anymore. Guess age is really starting to creep up on me...at least I feel it this week as I can't keep up with the young crustaceans anymore--and yes, I am the old crab!
This evening we ventured out to a Brazilian Steakhouse! OH MY GOODNESS! I repeat, OH MY GOODNESS! If you have never been to one; GO! They are bit on the expensive side, but when you realize what all you get, the expense evens out. You start out at the salad bar; which is huge! All kinds of different salads, coucous, my favorite taboleh, and much more. Also there is hot dishes of beans, rice, paella, potatoes, etc. Back at your table you have a round disk that on one side is red and says STOP and the other side is Green and says GO. GO! Then the feast begins. First of all, most of the meat is served by waiters handling a huge skewer of meat and a very sharp knife! First one to our table had sausages, very tasty. Next came top sirloin, then chicken hearts (yes, you read that right), then beef chunks marinated in red wine (delicious), then pork roast, chicken legs, shrimp, and finally filet mignon. All were excellent, but the filet was the best I have ever had. We litterally waddled out of the place and waddled back to our hotel! We were stuffed but happy. Very different dining experience and I thought it was excellent!
FRIDAY
Good bye San Francisco, back to the real world. We hit the airport early and Kathy and Janet caught an early flight back to Seattle. I was on a different airline so I didn't leave until 1:00 p.m. and into Seattle by 3:00 p.m. Had to change airlines, so I got my luggage and drug the whole mess to Alaska Airlines for my flight to Spokane. I got up to the gate and had over an hour to wait, so I was chatting with the lady next to me when I looked up and there stood Al's niece Penny! We were sure surprised to see each other. She had been to Seattle for a conference and was on her way home to Spokane and we were on the same, very packed flight back to Spokane.
Jerry and AL picked me up and we stopped for dinner which was no comparison to the night before! Got home to some very happy to see me dogs and cats! Now the real work starts...getting the 5th wheel ready to leave for Tucson hopefully on Sunday. More from the road.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
What do Crabhats, Golden Gate, Chinatown, and Alcatraz have in common?
San Francisco
What do Crabhats, Golden Gate, Chinatown, and Alcatraz have in common? The answer my friends is not blowin' in the wind as the song goes (or maybe it is!) - the answer is three crustaceans and an old crab have landed in San Francisco. Daughter Jennifer, daughter-in-law Janet and good friend Kathy and I are terrorizing the town. And what fun we are having doing the terrorizing!
Lets start at the beginning....if I can remember it. We arrived Saturday at noon and immediately took a shuttle ride to our hotel for the first night. The ride from the airport was nothing less than absolute fear...the driver was crazy and several times I thought we weren't going to be alive to tell the story or even see the city! However, we survived the ride, dumped our bags at the hotel and started off for Fisherman's Wharf, which was a few short blocks away. But first things first, we were all starved. We found a great pub for lunch....Fiddler's Green. We couldn't make up our minds what we wanted to eat so we shared...Banger's and Mash; and Irish hamburger and Irish stew. YUM!
Now we were ready to go see what kind of trouble we could cook up at Fisherman's Wharf. We walked down the street until we got to Pier 39 which is really a tourist trap, but we are tourists, so we strolled through it. We kept loosing each other in the crowd. It was getting frustrating and we needed a way to spot each other...so we came up with an idea. We bought and wore crab hats! Yes, sober and all, the four of us wore crab hats.
Yes, we were sober! And yes, we were able to spot each other in a crowd! And yes, we did attract a little bit of attention. Strangers asked where we got the hats; took our pictures and made comment on "how cute" it was. They were probably thinking we were real idiots, but we didn't care and we were having fun. And we laughed...oh how hard can we laugh!
We had dinner at Aliotto's that night...I insisted! And boy was it ever good! WOW! And we are such party animals that we were crashed at 9:00 p.m. -- done for the day!
SUNDAY
We were up and off for our first tour. We purchased a two day tour from the "hop off-hop on" bus. Our first tour was the city loop. SF is such an interesting, diverse city. We started in Fisherman's Wharf, then through the Embarcadaro, Financial District, the Tenderloin (where we were advised to not walk alone), Union Square and Chinatown, North Beach and finally back to where we started. However, Kathy and I hopped off at Chinatown and had Dim Sum for lunch and wandered the streets there for a while; the other two went on to take the tour of the Golden Gate.
We all met up later in the afternoon as we had to change hotels. But before we did that, we had to go to Ghiradelli Square which was just down the street from our hotel for some chocolate. We had hot fudge sundaes and did a little Chocolate shopping.
I had booked our timeshare for Sun-Fri; then all of us decided we wanted to come in a day earlier, so I just booked a day at another timeshare. At any rate, we loaded our luggage up into a town car (no more shuttles for us and the cost was the same) and we took off for Inn at the Opera which is located right next to the Opera house and Civic Center. However, our driver did take us down Lombard street...the crookedest street in SF. What a street....I have always wanted to drive down it! After getting settled in the hotel we walked a few blocks to an Italian Restaurant where locals go and boy it was good. YUM again.
Up early on Monday (I thought we were on vacation?) and off to pickup our tickets for our Alcatraz tour later that day. Kathy and I took the Golden Gate tour and Jennifer and Janet took the Chinatown trip. The day before when they took the Golden Gate tour they were so cold (we are on the top of double decker open air buses) so Kathy and I prepared and wore several layers of clothing. However, we had a beautiful, sunny, warm, clear day and we were shedding layers of clothing before too long. This tour took us over the bridge; through the Presidio; Pacific Heights, Cow Hollow and Russian Hill. The Presidio is now owned by the National Parks and they are converting many of the dwellings into houses...albeit, very expensive houses. We ended our tour and met the other two for lunch at Fog City Diner. Then it was off to Alcatraz.
Very interesting tour. Having never been in a jail before (any of us) it was all very interesting and we all decided we didn't ever want to reside in one of these. Many prisoners tried to escape "the rock" and only 3 ever succeeded...however, it isn't known if they actually succeeded, or drown trying to swim the icy waters of SF Bay. Alcatraz was a prison for 29 years before it just became to expensive to use. Since everything, including water had to be transported over, the government closed it down in an attempt to cut costs. (and we all know how the government can cut costs!!) After it closed as a prison, Native Indians took it over as their own for a while before they were forced off the island. Now it is owned by the US Parks service.
After our tour there, we were back to catch a "city lights" night tour of SF. It basically took us over most of what the city tour did, except we did go by the "Painted Ladies". The Painted Ladies are a set of seven Victorian Houses in the Victorian and Edwardian styles were built in San Francisco between 1849 and 1915 and many were painted in bright colors. This is also known as "Post Card Row" as many postcards are pictures of these houses. Also the TV Show "Full House" was set here. Very pretty.
By the time we were done with this busy day we crashed. We are certainly doing a lot of walking and trying to see everything we can in the few days we are here.
Tuesday
Our day to ride cable cars! You can't come to SF and not ride cable cars! We started on the Powell Mason and rode it from end to end, then walked a few blocks to the Powell Hyde car, which takes you up "Rice-a-Roni" hill (made famous by the commercial for Rice a Roni). We stopped at the cable car museum, then on to the California Cable Car line, from end to end. Cable cars are so fascinating. Then we hopped on the street car (different from Cable car) and went out to Castro district and then on to the bus back to the Painted Ladies and Victorian House area. Finally back to the hotel....I was done for! My back was hurting, so I begged off dinner and just layed low last night. It was a fun day tho!
Today we are heading for an In N Out Burger (what? you didn't think I would let that slip by) and then to the North Beach area. The girls are out right now touring the city hall/library area. I opted to stay home and blog! More later.
What do Crabhats, Golden Gate, Chinatown, and Alcatraz have in common? The answer my friends is not blowin' in the wind as the song goes (or maybe it is!) - the answer is three crustaceans and an old crab have landed in San Francisco. Daughter Jennifer, daughter-in-law Janet and good friend Kathy and I are terrorizing the town. And what fun we are having doing the terrorizing!
Lets start at the beginning....if I can remember it. We arrived Saturday at noon and immediately took a shuttle ride to our hotel for the first night. The ride from the airport was nothing less than absolute fear...the driver was crazy and several times I thought we weren't going to be alive to tell the story or even see the city! However, we survived the ride, dumped our bags at the hotel and started off for Fisherman's Wharf, which was a few short blocks away. But first things first, we were all starved. We found a great pub for lunch....Fiddler's Green. We couldn't make up our minds what we wanted to eat so we shared...Banger's and Mash; and Irish hamburger and Irish stew. YUM!
Now we were ready to go see what kind of trouble we could cook up at Fisherman's Wharf. We walked down the street until we got to Pier 39 which is really a tourist trap, but we are tourists, so we strolled through it. We kept loosing each other in the crowd. It was getting frustrating and we needed a way to spot each other...so we came up with an idea. We bought and wore crab hats! Yes, sober and all, the four of us wore crab hats.
Yes, we were sober! And yes, we were able to spot each other in a crowd! And yes, we did attract a little bit of attention. Strangers asked where we got the hats; took our pictures and made comment on "how cute" it was. They were probably thinking we were real idiots, but we didn't care and we were having fun. And we laughed...oh how hard can we laugh!
We had dinner at Aliotto's that night...I insisted! And boy was it ever good! WOW! And we are such party animals that we were crashed at 9:00 p.m. -- done for the day!
SUNDAY
We were up and off for our first tour. We purchased a two day tour from the "hop off-hop on" bus. Our first tour was the city loop. SF is such an interesting, diverse city. We started in Fisherman's Wharf, then through the Embarcadaro, Financial District, the Tenderloin (where we were advised to not walk alone), Union Square and Chinatown, North Beach and finally back to where we started. However, Kathy and I hopped off at Chinatown and had Dim Sum for lunch and wandered the streets there for a while; the other two went on to take the tour of the Golden Gate.
We all met up later in the afternoon as we had to change hotels. But before we did that, we had to go to Ghiradelli Square which was just down the street from our hotel for some chocolate. We had hot fudge sundaes and did a little Chocolate shopping.
I had booked our timeshare for Sun-Fri; then all of us decided we wanted to come in a day earlier, so I just booked a day at another timeshare. At any rate, we loaded our luggage up into a town car (no more shuttles for us and the cost was the same) and we took off for Inn at the Opera which is located right next to the Opera house and Civic Center. However, our driver did take us down Lombard street...the crookedest street in SF. What a street....I have always wanted to drive down it! After getting settled in the hotel we walked a few blocks to an Italian Restaurant where locals go and boy it was good. YUM again.
Up early on Monday (I thought we were on vacation?) and off to pickup our tickets for our Alcatraz tour later that day. Kathy and I took the Golden Gate tour and Jennifer and Janet took the Chinatown trip. The day before when they took the Golden Gate tour they were so cold (we are on the top of double decker open air buses) so Kathy and I prepared and wore several layers of clothing. However, we had a beautiful, sunny, warm, clear day and we were shedding layers of clothing before too long. This tour took us over the bridge; through the Presidio; Pacific Heights, Cow Hollow and Russian Hill. The Presidio is now owned by the National Parks and they are converting many of the dwellings into houses...albeit, very expensive houses. We ended our tour and met the other two for lunch at Fog City Diner. Then it was off to Alcatraz.
Very interesting tour. Having never been in a jail before (any of us) it was all very interesting and we all decided we didn't ever want to reside in one of these. Many prisoners tried to escape "the rock" and only 3 ever succeeded...however, it isn't known if they actually succeeded, or drown trying to swim the icy waters of SF Bay. Alcatraz was a prison for 29 years before it just became to expensive to use. Since everything, including water had to be transported over, the government closed it down in an attempt to cut costs. (and we all know how the government can cut costs!!) After it closed as a prison, Native Indians took it over as their own for a while before they were forced off the island. Now it is owned by the US Parks service.
After our tour there, we were back to catch a "city lights" night tour of SF. It basically took us over most of what the city tour did, except we did go by the "Painted Ladies". The Painted Ladies are a set of seven Victorian Houses in the Victorian and Edwardian styles were built in San Francisco between 1849 and 1915 and many were painted in bright colors. This is also known as "Post Card Row" as many postcards are pictures of these houses. Also the TV Show "Full House" was set here. Very pretty.
By the time we were done with this busy day we crashed. We are certainly doing a lot of walking and trying to see everything we can in the few days we are here.
Tuesday
Our day to ride cable cars! You can't come to SF and not ride cable cars! We started on the Powell Mason and rode it from end to end, then walked a few blocks to the Powell Hyde car, which takes you up "Rice-a-Roni" hill (made famous by the commercial for Rice a Roni). We stopped at the cable car museum, then on to the California Cable Car line, from end to end. Cable cars are so fascinating. Then we hopped on the street car (different from Cable car) and went out to Castro district and then on to the bus back to the Painted Ladies and Victorian House area. Finally back to the hotel....I was done for! My back was hurting, so I begged off dinner and just layed low last night. It was a fun day tho!
Today we are heading for an In N Out Burger (what? you didn't think I would let that slip by) and then to the North Beach area. The girls are out right now touring the city hall/library area. I opted to stay home and blog! More later.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Lake Chelan and Back
Odessa
What a fun weekend I had. I met up with Daughter in law Janet and granddaughter Cammie at Lake Chelan for a "girls" weekend while my house in Odessa turned into deer hunting central for the guys!
I got to Lake Chelan Friday afternoon after a trip over some back roads in Eastern Washington. I saw a lot of country I hadn't seen before! After getting settled in to the timeshare at Wapato Point we decided to go exploring. All of us have been to Lake Chelan many times, but there is always something more to see and do. AL and I had at one point in time, owned a piece of property in the little town of Manson on Lake Chelan. It was in a community that only allowed manufactured homes; they had to be new when the went on the lot and there were/are very strict guidelines on what you could put on your lot. We purchased the lot for around $15,000 and sold it in 2001 (against my better judgement) for double what we paid for it. Well, the lot with the house on it now is for sale. So I had to inquire. $499,000! OUCH! THere is still one empty lot in the development, so today I called to inquire on the price of the lot....$125,000! ARE THEY CRAZY? And it isn't even a view lot! Damn, another one lost! Oh well! SOme you lose and some you win and some are rained out!
Anyway, we went to dinner at a very nice pub in Chelan and had a great meal. Then it was back to the condo to pretty much give in for the evening.
Up Saturday and off to breakfast at a place called Blueberry Hills. WOW, is all I can say. This place started out as a fruit stand, and as they say, accidently turned into a restaurant. They only serve breakfast and lunch, but boy is it ever good. I had the best Eggs Benidict I have ever put in my mouth! After stuffing ourselves we headed for Winthrop, WA. Winthrop is a little town in the Methow Valley. It has a "western" theme to it and it just a cool little town to go poking around in. It was a beautiful drive through the Methow Valley. I stopped several times to take some pictures.
Methow River
We wandered (yes, Jennifer, wandered) through Winthrop poking our noses into some of the shops. Had to buy some candy at one...I was craving a carmel apple. Had lunch at a pizza place that was very good. Then we drove to Pearrygin Lake where Janets parents were camped. What a beautiful place that is. I will have to remember that spot to come back to next year with the 5th wheel and stay a while. We visited with her parents for a bit, then headed back to Chelan. It was getting a little cool outside by the time we got back. We decided to play Chicken Foot (a dominos game--it's addicting) and wound up grilling burgers and playing until late in the night. What a fun night tho.
Sunday dawned just as beautiful as the day before. We lazed around the condo for most of the morning and then decided to go back to Blueberry Hills for lunch. I had a cheeseburger (of course) with blueberry mayo...and it was good. After lunch we headed back into Chelan for some retail therapy. I needed some socks for my cold feet! While in town we kept hearing and seeing all these rescue vehicles going out of town on our side of the lake. Hmm...first we thought accident (the road to Manson is somewhat treacherous) but then we saw the fire trucks heading out, then the water trucks...FIRE! We headed back towards Manson looking for smoke and didn't see a bit. We drove to the very end of Manson and when we turned around we were amazed to see the big black plume of smoke from just over the hill. Hmmm...so off we went to see if we could find where the fire was. After a few attempts we gave up and decided to take a ride up to the ski resort. It was a very pretty ride, fall colors and all. And to our surprise, when we got to the ski resort, we found the fire! The ski hill was burning.
On our way back down into town, we saw this on the lake....
We still have no idea what it was. It looked like a low hanging cloud, however, when we drove about 100 yards further down the hill it completely disappeared. Very weird! And there wasn't a cloud in the sky!
We played cards last night after having our dinner. We all finally gave up and went to bed late.
This morning I was leaving for home and Cammie was headed back to Seattle. Janet will stay at the condo and wait for Ric to arrive from Odessa where he was hunting this weekend. BTW, no deer were hurt this weekend, and only a few ducks lost their lives.
The drive home was uneventful....pretty county on a very pretty Autumn day. The weather has warmed up some, it is only suppose to get into the low 50's tonight! This week I will be busy finishing packing the 5th wheel and getting it ready to go when I get home from San Francisco. I leave on Friday for Seattle and fly to SF from there on Saturday. So until the next post, most likely from San Francisco...have a great week!
What a fun weekend I had. I met up with Daughter in law Janet and granddaughter Cammie at Lake Chelan for a "girls" weekend while my house in Odessa turned into deer hunting central for the guys!
I got to Lake Chelan Friday afternoon after a trip over some back roads in Eastern Washington. I saw a lot of country I hadn't seen before! After getting settled in to the timeshare at Wapato Point we decided to go exploring. All of us have been to Lake Chelan many times, but there is always something more to see and do. AL and I had at one point in time, owned a piece of property in the little town of Manson on Lake Chelan. It was in a community that only allowed manufactured homes; they had to be new when the went on the lot and there were/are very strict guidelines on what you could put on your lot. We purchased the lot for around $15,000 and sold it in 2001 (against my better judgement) for double what we paid for it. Well, the lot with the house on it now is for sale. So I had to inquire. $499,000! OUCH! THere is still one empty lot in the development, so today I called to inquire on the price of the lot....$125,000! ARE THEY CRAZY? And it isn't even a view lot! Damn, another one lost! Oh well! SOme you lose and some you win and some are rained out!
Anyway, we went to dinner at a very nice pub in Chelan and had a great meal. Then it was back to the condo to pretty much give in for the evening.
Up Saturday and off to breakfast at a place called Blueberry Hills. WOW, is all I can say. This place started out as a fruit stand, and as they say, accidently turned into a restaurant. They only serve breakfast and lunch, but boy is it ever good. I had the best Eggs Benidict I have ever put in my mouth! After stuffing ourselves we headed for Winthrop, WA. Winthrop is a little town in the Methow Valley. It has a "western" theme to it and it just a cool little town to go poking around in. It was a beautiful drive through the Methow Valley. I stopped several times to take some pictures.
Methow River
We wandered (yes, Jennifer, wandered) through Winthrop poking our noses into some of the shops. Had to buy some candy at one...I was craving a carmel apple. Had lunch at a pizza place that was very good. Then we drove to Pearrygin Lake where Janets parents were camped. What a beautiful place that is. I will have to remember that spot to come back to next year with the 5th wheel and stay a while. We visited with her parents for a bit, then headed back to Chelan. It was getting a little cool outside by the time we got back. We decided to play Chicken Foot (a dominos game--it's addicting) and wound up grilling burgers and playing until late in the night. What a fun night tho.
Sunday dawned just as beautiful as the day before. We lazed around the condo for most of the morning and then decided to go back to Blueberry Hills for lunch. I had a cheeseburger (of course) with blueberry mayo...and it was good. After lunch we headed back into Chelan for some retail therapy. I needed some socks for my cold feet! While in town we kept hearing and seeing all these rescue vehicles going out of town on our side of the lake. Hmm...first we thought accident (the road to Manson is somewhat treacherous) but then we saw the fire trucks heading out, then the water trucks...FIRE! We headed back towards Manson looking for smoke and didn't see a bit. We drove to the very end of Manson and when we turned around we were amazed to see the big black plume of smoke from just over the hill. Hmmm...so off we went to see if we could find where the fire was. After a few attempts we gave up and decided to take a ride up to the ski resort. It was a very pretty ride, fall colors and all. And to our surprise, when we got to the ski resort, we found the fire! The ski hill was burning.
On our way back down into town, we saw this on the lake....
We still have no idea what it was. It looked like a low hanging cloud, however, when we drove about 100 yards further down the hill it completely disappeared. Very weird! And there wasn't a cloud in the sky!
We played cards last night after having our dinner. We all finally gave up and went to bed late.
This morning I was leaving for home and Cammie was headed back to Seattle. Janet will stay at the condo and wait for Ric to arrive from Odessa where he was hunting this weekend. BTW, no deer were hurt this weekend, and only a few ducks lost their lives.
The drive home was uneventful....pretty county on a very pretty Autumn day. The weather has warmed up some, it is only suppose to get into the low 50's tonight! This week I will be busy finishing packing the 5th wheel and getting it ready to go when I get home from San Francisco. I leave on Friday for Seattle and fly to SF from there on Saturday. So until the next post, most likely from San Francisco...have a great week!
Wednesday, October 08, 2008
A Stitch in Time...
Odessolet
Wow...what a week! Remind me again why we are still here? Oh ya, that's right, AL wanted to deer hunt and I wanted to stay and enjoy some Fall weather. Okay, enough! We woke up to 25 degrees this morning. Had me whining about Tucson! All the animals and myself DID NOT want to get out of bed...too cold! BRRRR...time to go!
This last week has kinda' been a blur. I have been busy trying to organize and start to load the trailer...only I feel like I am in slow motion or I am slogging through water! I just can't do as much and as fast as I used to! Darn...getting old is starting to catch up with me and I don't like it one bit. Oh, I don't care about the number, I just hate this feeling of weakness I get and the sore body. My mind is still in it's 40's, however, my body says it definitely isn't!
Monday we had to take Schuster to the vet to have minor surgery. He had to have a cyst removed from his upper chest. Nothing to worry about, just a fatty tumor. I said that was the only fat on him and the vet agreed. He is in very good health otherwise. While they had him "under" they cleaned his teeth as well. While he was in the vet, (which is in Reardan, about 50 miles from here)we decided to go on in to Spokane and see our sister-in-law Gloria and take her to lunch and meet up with Gary and Jeannette as well. We had a good lunch and visit. I had to hit a couple fabric stores as I am looking for a pattern. WOW...guess it has been a while since I have bought a pattern...darn things are expensive and so is fabric. OUCH! Any way, we got back to the vet around 3:30 and picked up one very groggy dog. The vet said everything went fine, just to watch him that he didn't pull the stitches out, which none of us thought he would since they aren't in the easiest place to reach for him.
He did fine yesterday... a little loopy from the pain meds, but other wise he was fine. Then, this morning I got up and checked his stitches and couldn't find a one! All I could see was an incision, wide open and bleeding! WTH? How, he got those stitches out is beyond me! At any rate, I bandaged him up as well as I could and off to Reardan we go to get him stitched up AGAIN! When I called the vet she said I could try and super glue the incision together...HUH? Anyone that knows me knows that won't happen! The vet has super glued his incision and put a "sweater" type thing over it. She said he couldn't get that off...HA! We weren't even home and he had figured out a way to get it loose...and didn't even scratch or bite at it! So once we got home I once again took my medical tape and taped up the sweater thing so hopefully he won't get it off. He is once again a little on the loopy side and they had to give him some meds to calm him down. Now I am watching him like a hawk!
Speaking of hawks, well, not really, on the way to Reardan today I saw two wild turkeys (and not the kind in a bottle either!!) And, what I think was an Eagle. However, I don't ever remember seeing eagles over here, but it sure looked big enough to be one.
We have had cold, rainy and very windy weather the past few days. 17 more days and we will be outta' here. I heard on the weather forecast they were predicting "flurries" -- I sure hope those were leaf flurries and not that S stuff!
I am off this weekend to Lake Chelan to spend the weekend with daughter in law Janet and granddaughter Cammie while my house turns into deer hunting central. Then next week (18th) I am going to San Francisco for 6 days with the girls....can't wait for that trip.
So until next time.....we are still here.
Wow...what a week! Remind me again why we are still here? Oh ya, that's right, AL wanted to deer hunt and I wanted to stay and enjoy some Fall weather. Okay, enough! We woke up to 25 degrees this morning. Had me whining about Tucson! All the animals and myself DID NOT want to get out of bed...too cold! BRRRR...time to go!
This last week has kinda' been a blur. I have been busy trying to organize and start to load the trailer...only I feel like I am in slow motion or I am slogging through water! I just can't do as much and as fast as I used to! Darn...getting old is starting to catch up with me and I don't like it one bit. Oh, I don't care about the number, I just hate this feeling of weakness I get and the sore body. My mind is still in it's 40's, however, my body says it definitely isn't!
Monday we had to take Schuster to the vet to have minor surgery. He had to have a cyst removed from his upper chest. Nothing to worry about, just a fatty tumor. I said that was the only fat on him and the vet agreed. He is in very good health otherwise. While they had him "under" they cleaned his teeth as well. While he was in the vet, (which is in Reardan, about 50 miles from here)we decided to go on in to Spokane and see our sister-in-law Gloria and take her to lunch and meet up with Gary and Jeannette as well. We had a good lunch and visit. I had to hit a couple fabric stores as I am looking for a pattern. WOW...guess it has been a while since I have bought a pattern...darn things are expensive and so is fabric. OUCH! Any way, we got back to the vet around 3:30 and picked up one very groggy dog. The vet said everything went fine, just to watch him that he didn't pull the stitches out, which none of us thought he would since they aren't in the easiest place to reach for him.
He did fine yesterday... a little loopy from the pain meds, but other wise he was fine. Then, this morning I got up and checked his stitches and couldn't find a one! All I could see was an incision, wide open and bleeding! WTH? How, he got those stitches out is beyond me! At any rate, I bandaged him up as well as I could and off to Reardan we go to get him stitched up AGAIN! When I called the vet she said I could try and super glue the incision together...HUH? Anyone that knows me knows that won't happen! The vet has super glued his incision and put a "sweater" type thing over it. She said he couldn't get that off...HA! We weren't even home and he had figured out a way to get it loose...and didn't even scratch or bite at it! So once we got home I once again took my medical tape and taped up the sweater thing so hopefully he won't get it off. He is once again a little on the loopy side and they had to give him some meds to calm him down. Now I am watching him like a hawk!
Speaking of hawks, well, not really, on the way to Reardan today I saw two wild turkeys (and not the kind in a bottle either!!) And, what I think was an Eagle. However, I don't ever remember seeing eagles over here, but it sure looked big enough to be one.
We have had cold, rainy and very windy weather the past few days. 17 more days and we will be outta' here. I heard on the weather forecast they were predicting "flurries" -- I sure hope those were leaf flurries and not that S stuff!
I am off this weekend to Lake Chelan to spend the weekend with daughter in law Janet and granddaughter Cammie while my house turns into deer hunting central. Then next week (18th) I am going to San Francisco for 6 days with the girls....can't wait for that trip.
So until next time.....we are still here.
Wednesday, October 01, 2008
Betty Crocker has invaded my body!
Odessa
Oh boy...I have been in this little burg too long! The Suzi Homemaker or Betty Crocker has invaded my body. All of a sudden I want to bake and cook and clean (am I nesting??) repeat! Today I baked 200 cookies...don't ask why, I just did. It started with me wanting a really good peanut butter cookie and the only way I knew how to do that was to bake some. And so it began. I used my grandmother's recipe, which always makes me laugh when I read it. Such things as "bake until done" and "a smidgen of soda" appear in the recipe. What is a smidgen of soda???? Guessing, as I always do, I use a teaspoon. Any way, when I was done with those apparently my mind wasn't done wanting to bake (I tell you, it has got to be that $%^# CPAP doing things to my brain!)I decided it is fall and every fall I bake Pumpkin cookies. SO I dug out my trusty recipe and away I went. I have gone through 5 pounds of flour today!!! Those pumpkin cookies are so good, but the recipe makes about 120 cookies! WHEW! I have a note on the recipe that says "DO NOT DOUBLE" -- apparently I did that at one time and wound up with way too many pumpkin cookies!
Now, one would think I would be doing this on a cool day, but no, it was 85 here today! The a/c is working overtime! Especially with the oven on! :-) But it was fun.
Yesterday I finished a quilt top and I am not happy with the way it turned out so I am debating tearing it apart and trying to fix it. I have put it away for a while...too frustrated with it.
The trailer is cleaned and I am starting to load it. Most of my clothes are in it (Can you tell who is ready to go??); my sewing machine stays in it as that is where I sew; and any thing else I can do with out that needs to go south with us is in the trailer. I am bugging Al to get his clothes out that he wants to take, but he is dragging his feet and I will wind up doing it. I want to have as much loaded as I can before I leave for San Francisco later this month. Oh, did I tell you? The "girls" Janet, Kathy and Jennifer and I are spending 6 days in San Francisco. I can hardly wait. I have wanted to explore San Francisco for a long time and it has been a long time since I have spent any amount of time there. The Panama Canal cruise that we took last spring stopped in San Francisco for a day and that started me wanting to go back. AL isn't crazy about big cities and prefers not to have to deal with them, so this is perfect. He will have his hunting to do and I will get to play for a few days. Just wish Bev could be with us.
Oops -- time to go, my cats are circling telling me it is a little after 5:00p.m. and their feeding time, so until next time.....
Oh boy...I have been in this little burg too long! The Suzi Homemaker or Betty Crocker has invaded my body. All of a sudden I want to bake and cook and clean (am I nesting??) repeat! Today I baked 200 cookies...don't ask why, I just did. It started with me wanting a really good peanut butter cookie and the only way I knew how to do that was to bake some. And so it began. I used my grandmother's recipe, which always makes me laugh when I read it. Such things as "bake until done" and "a smidgen of soda" appear in the recipe. What is a smidgen of soda???? Guessing, as I always do, I use a teaspoon. Any way, when I was done with those apparently my mind wasn't done wanting to bake (I tell you, it has got to be that $%^# CPAP doing things to my brain!)I decided it is fall and every fall I bake Pumpkin cookies. SO I dug out my trusty recipe and away I went. I have gone through 5 pounds of flour today!!! Those pumpkin cookies are so good, but the recipe makes about 120 cookies! WHEW! I have a note on the recipe that says "DO NOT DOUBLE" -- apparently I did that at one time and wound up with way too many pumpkin cookies!
Now, one would think I would be doing this on a cool day, but no, it was 85 here today! The a/c is working overtime! Especially with the oven on! :-) But it was fun.
Yesterday I finished a quilt top and I am not happy with the way it turned out so I am debating tearing it apart and trying to fix it. I have put it away for a while...too frustrated with it.
The trailer is cleaned and I am starting to load it. Most of my clothes are in it (Can you tell who is ready to go??); my sewing machine stays in it as that is where I sew; and any thing else I can do with out that needs to go south with us is in the trailer. I am bugging Al to get his clothes out that he wants to take, but he is dragging his feet and I will wind up doing it. I want to have as much loaded as I can before I leave for San Francisco later this month. Oh, did I tell you? The "girls" Janet, Kathy and Jennifer and I are spending 6 days in San Francisco. I can hardly wait. I have wanted to explore San Francisco for a long time and it has been a long time since I have spent any amount of time there. The Panama Canal cruise that we took last spring stopped in San Francisco for a day and that started me wanting to go back. AL isn't crazy about big cities and prefers not to have to deal with them, so this is perfect. He will have his hunting to do and I will get to play for a few days. Just wish Bev could be with us.
Oops -- time to go, my cats are circling telling me it is a little after 5:00p.m. and their feeding time, so until next time.....
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